Prior to becoming attorney general, Strange operated his own practice in Birmingham. Before that, he worked for the lobbying firm Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLC.

Strange's formal entry into state politics was in 2006, when he ran for Lieutenant Governor. Though he easily secured the Republican nomination, he lost narrowly in the general election to former governor Jim Folsom, Jr. Before ever stepping up to the podium as a candidate, Strange had already established himself as an active member of the Republican Party of Alabama behind the scenes. He founded the Red Mountain Republican Club in 1997 and served as the Chair of the Committee to Elect Bill Pryor in 1998 and 2002.

Since taking office as attorney general, Strange has focused his efforts on tackling public corruption and consumer vulnerability to cyber crime. He has been a champion of nationwide conservative issue campaigns aiming to restrict federal regulatory power over the states, such as the legal efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act - with special emphasis on eliminating the birthcontrol mandate, in addition to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which had long required Alabama to obtain pre-clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice to make any changes to state election and voting laws. The law was created to prevent the institutional disenfranchisement of minority voters in states where there is an historical precedent for such actions.

Strange first comes up for re-election in 2014. He sought the Republican nomination in the primary on June 3, 2014.[4] The general election took place November 4, 2014.

Biography

Strange was born and raised in Birmingham, Al, where he was heavily involved in the community. He participated in Eagle Scouts and sports, basketball in particular, which he played on scholarship at Tulane University while pursuing his Bachelor's degree in political science.[1]

After receiving his law degree, also from Tulane, Strange began working for Sonat, Inc., a large Fortune 500 American energy holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. He was later promoted to direct the company's Washington D.C. office. Strange then joined with lawyer Jack Selden to open up their own private practice law firm, which eventually merged with Bradley, Arant, Rose, & White in 1998. Ten years later, he left and formed his own law firm, Strange, LLC, which focuses on economic development work. Strange, LCC was ranked among the "Best Law Firms" by U.S. News in 2010, owing in large part to Strange's efforts advising companies on growth and expansion opportunities within the state of Alabama.[5]

Strange is a former recipient of the Birmingham Business Journal's "Best of the Bar Award." He is on the Talladega College Board of Trustees, a member of the Birmingham Rotary Club and the Monday Morning Quarterback Club.

Issues

Fighting public corruption

Strange forged a collaborative initiative called the Special Prosecutions Alliance in April 2012. Dedicated to combating public corruption, the alliance brings together several state agencies, including the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts, the Ethics Commission, Department of Public Safety, Insurance Department and Criminal Justice Information Center. Strange appointed Special Prosecutor Matt Hart to lead the division, with the accompanying warning that officials who violate the public trust can expect to be held to account "regardless of their political affiliation or position." In his April 12 announcement of the alliance's launch, Strange stressed the importance of protecting "the integrity of government and taxpayers' money during times of scarce resources."[7]

Birth control mandate

On March 22, 2012 Strange filed a motion with the US District Court in Birmingham, Alabama to become co-plaintiff alongside EWTN Global Catholic Television Network in its existing suit against the federal government for requiring employers to provide contraception coverage in their businesses' healthcare plans.[8] The organization's file claim was that the mandate violates the convictions of religious employers, and Strange agreed, citing his statutory responsibilities to protect the missions of Alabama charitable institutions against this "interfering" federal regulation. He pledged to throw the weight of the office behind EWTN, which Strange said is "the largest religious media network in the world." [9]

Healthcare reform

In late-September 2010, Strange, who at the time, was in the midst of his campaign for state attorney general, having defeated incumbent Troy King in the Republican primary, said that he would continue to participate in the legal challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that King had entered earlier in the year and called the reform measure an "intrusion" on the part of the federal government into the lives of average Americans. [10]

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Luther Strange is available dating back to 2006. Based on available campaign finance records, Luther Strange raised a total of $8,792,036 during that time period. This information was last updated on June 3, 2013.[13]

Luther Strange's Campaign Contribution History

Year

Office

Result

Contributions

2012

Attorney General of Alabama

$96,959

2010

Attorney General of Alabama

$3,450,228

2006

Lieutenant Governor of Alabama

$5,244,849

Grand Total Raised

$8,792,036

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Luther Strange's donors each year.[14] Click [show] for more information.

↑Even though Luther Strange received the most votes, he failed to receive over fifty percent of those votes required by Alabama state law. A run-off election between the top two vote recipients, therefore, was required to decide who went on to the general election.